This approach is essentially the same as the military merit system of Shang Yang's reform, but Shang Yang's reform is more complete.
The advantages are obvious, soldiers fight to the death. The disadvantages are also obvious, when you have no territory, the country will begin to decline or even collapse.
After Shang Yang's reform, the Qin State has been following the path of expansion, and its territory has become larger and larger, so it has always had enough land to cash in on its soldiers.
However, the Wei State itself had a small territory and a large population, and did not have that much land. It had been expanding in the early stage, and the disadvantages had not yet appeared. When the territory began to shrink, the disadvantages were immediately exposed.
The land previously allocated cannot be taken back, and there is no new land allocated, and unlike Qin, Chu and Zhao Yan, they can reclaim wasteland.
This is why the Wei State was able to support 50,000 Wei soldiers in the past. Later, it only lost a few battles and did not lose much territory, so the scale of Wei soldiers shrank significantly.
It is inevitable that the Wei State will weaken the strength of the Wei State by sending 40,000 households to it, but to a certain extent, it will also free up more land to recruit Wei soldiers, but it will have a very bad impact on the reputation.
After King Wei agreed, Fan Zuo had no choice but to step aside. As for the specific details, he would discuss them later.
Zhao Kuo and the King of Wei came to the city. The King of Wei hosted a banquet. All etiquette was fixed. You must sit on your knees, with your buttocks pressed against your heels, and your body must be upright without bending. There are people waiting beside you, and you must pinch the kuaizi a few times.
There are rules for stopping. Then there are compliments to each other and other useless words.
Benches and chairs had long been brought to the Wei State by merchants, but the Wei State was very close to the Zhou State. Zixia of the Xihe School was also a Confucianist, and the entire Wei State was deeply influenced by the Zhou rites and was far less open than the Zhao State.
If Zhao Kuo were the king of Wei, he would definitely be criticized by all the ministers every day.
Those businessmen who went to Wei to sell benches and chairs thought they had discovered business opportunities, but instead of making a fortune, most of them went bankrupt.
As for the Qianshou at the bottom, they don’t care about politeness or not, and they also like benches, but they have no money!
Zhao Kuo didn't like this form very much. After a while, he felt uncomfortable all over and his legs were numb. But seeing everyone sitting on their knees, he was embarrassed to ask Ben to move the benches.
In addition to Zhao Kuo and a group of civil and military officials, the King of Wei also ordered to entertain the Zhao soldiers. Of course, it was only for one meal. It was not that Wei was reluctant to part with it, but it was really unaffordable.
I don't know why, but Zhao Kuo always felt that Long Yangjun next to King Wei was more beautiful than before. He was like a hibiscus from clear water, and his skin was even more delicate than that of a woman.
When Long Yangjun saw Zhao Kuo looking at him, he smiled charmingly, raised his glass to Zhao Kuo, and drank it all in one gulp.
"He is a man, he is a man." Zhao Kuo muttered silently in his heart, turned his head forcibly and stopped looking at Long Yangjun. He shook his head, trying to get rid of Long Yangjun's figure from his mind.
"Why did King Zhao shake his head? Could it be that the food didn't taste good or that the dancers didn't dance well enough?" King Wei said with a smile.
"No, I am just worried about Qin for Wei." Zhao Kuo was stunned and said quickly, "The north and west of Qin are both deserts, and the south is blocked by mountains. The east is our three Jin states. So even if this is
After being defeated this time, he will still gather strength to make a comeback. Bai Qi is so brave and good at fighting that neither Korea, Zhao, nor Wei can resist him."
When Zhao Kuo mentioned Bai Qi, the King of Wei sighed, waved his hand to ask the dancer to leave, and said: "That Bai Qi is not only good at fighting, but also cruel and cruel. The people of Wei State hate him with all their heart. It's a pity that I
I am incompetent and unable to avenge the people. I am ashamed of myself."
Although the King of Wei reacted slowly, he now realized that Hedong was a hot potato for Wei. As long as Hedong was occupied, he would face threats from Qin at any time.
But it is even more impossible for him to give up Hedong. Hedong was the foundation of the Jin Dynasty. The land had been developed for thousands of years, and its fertility was no less than that of the Central Plains. There was also a cornucopia of salt ponds.
After the Wei State acquired Hedong, commercial taxes had quadrupled. Among them were the elimination of tariffs between the three Jin Dynasties, a significant increase in the flow of goods, and the reason that Zhao State purchased a large amount of copper and iron from Wei State, as well as the salt pond.
"I am incompetent and cannot help the king." Upon seeing this, the ministers of the Wei State quickly bowed their heads and said.
"This time Qin was defeated, I wonder if King Zhao intends to counterattack Qin?" Fan Zuo suddenly asked.
King Wei looked at Zhao Kuo with a smile on his face, as if waiting for Zhao Kuo's answer.
Although he didn't understand why Fan Zuo asked this, his long-term experience told him that if he didn't know, just smile on his face, and Fan Zuo wouldn't trick him anyway.
"This guy is not a good person at first glance." Zhao Kuo gave Fan Zuo a deep look.
Now there are two possibilities for attacking Qin. One is to capture no territory, and the other is to capture some territory. Needless to say, there are two possibilities for the former. The latter is two possibilities. The territory captured will belong to Wei, and Zhao will gain nothing.
If they arrive, they will work for the Wei State in vain. The other is that the conquered territory will be returned to the Zhao State, and then the Zhao State will become a shield for the Wei State, and the Wei State can stay behind and develop with peace of mind.
"Wei State still has the strength to attack now?" Zhao Kuo asked rhetorically.
"Although our army suffered a major defeat, the soldiers did not lose much. As for the food and grass... they can be eaten by the enemy. Across the river, there are large tracts of farmland. The autumn harvest will be coming soon, so there is no need to worry about food." Fan Zuo.
He said with his hands raised.
Zhao Kuo was moved after hearing this. If Zhao's cavalry could cross the river, Qin's entire farmland north of the Wei River would suffer.
Moreover, the Qin State had no choice but to send troops to stop it. If not, it would be a loss of lives, but if it was too much, it would affect the harvest of grain.
It can be said that after this wave of operations, the Qin State will have to tighten its belt for most of next year and will have no extra strength to send troops.
However, after careful consideration, Zhao Kuo decided to refuse. Although this move could weaken Qin, the beneficiary was Wei, not Zhao. Zhao only deepened the conflict with Qin.
And... he wants to go home. He has been away for so long and he still hasn’t seen what his son looks like!
"We, the soldiers of Zhao State, have been on the war for such a long time. We all want to go home, so I'm afraid I won't be able to fight anymore." Zhao Kuo sighed and said apologetically.
Fan Zuo glanced at King Wei and saw that King Wei had no intention of speaking. He sighed in his heart. There were some things that only King Wei could say and he had no way to say them.
But King Wei obviously didn't know what he needed to say, so Fan Zuo had no choice but to walk behind King Wei, lean down and whisper.
"I can promise King Zhao that no matter how much land is conquered, it will all be returned to Zhao. We, the State of Wei, will not take any of it." King Wei said.
Zhao Kuo did not speak, but glanced at the generals below.
You have subordinates, and so do I!
"Your Majesty, our army has suffered heavy losses in successive battles and cannot continue fighting." Le Yi stood up immediately and said.
"Yes, there are already a lot of complaints in the army now." Lian Po also stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, if the war continues, the country may not be able to sustain itself. I heard that food prices started to rise sharply a few months ago, and now they have increased several times." Xunzi also said.
"The King of Wei and Mr. Wei also saw it. It's not that I don't agree, it's just that our country, Zhao, is really unable to fight any longer." Zhao Kuo said helplessly.
To be honest, Zhao Kuo is a little tempted. If Wei can offer real benefits, it is not impossible for him to agree. After all, Qin is Zhao's biggest enemy, but Wei now obviously wants to prostitute Zhao for free. How can he agree?